Rafael Nadal reacts after defeating Gaël Monfils the Monte Carlo Tennis Masters final in Monaco on Sunday. ‘I have to enjoy this moment,’ Nadal said. ‘The victory confirms that I am better.’Lionel Cironneau
Rafael Nadal is glad he won a ninth Monte Carlo Masters title the hard way, after defeating Frenchman Gaël Monfils 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 in an error-strewn final Sunday.
Normally, having to face 47 break points in five matches to win a tournament on clay would be a big cause for concern for the nine-time French Open champion. But the Spaniard sees it as a sign that his famed fighting qualities are coming back, compared with last year when he was more prey than predator on clay.
"This week I was able to increase my level when things became tough, like I did before," Nadal said. "That's something I missed a lot."
In total, Nadal dropped serve 13 times this week, and more clinical opponents might have made him pay.
The relief was evident for a profligate Nadal, as he overcame five breaks on his serve to win in Monte Carlo for the first time since the last of his eight straight titles in 2012. It also gave him a record-equalling 28th Masters title, bringing him alongside top-ranked Novak Djokovic.
He sank to his knees after sealing victory with a brilliant forehand winner, tilting his head back and closing his eyes to savour his biggest tournament win since the French Open in June, 2014 and his first at a Masters event since Madrid a few weeks before that.
"It has been a very important week," Nadal said. "The victory confirms that I am better."
Nadal is not going to get carried away. He has his sights set on a ninth title in Barcelona, having not won there since 2013, which is when he last reached the final.
"We will see how things are in the next six months, [but] I have to enjoy this moment," Nadal said. "Tomorrow I will start to think about Barcelona."
This was his first title of the year, having won only three in 2015 – when he was riddled with self-doubt.
Last year, Djokovic battered him in the French Open quarter-finals; Stan Wawrinka beat him in the Rome Masters quarter-finals in straight sets; Andy Murray routed him in the Madrid final 6-3, 6-2; Djokovic won 6-3, 6-3 in the Monte Carlo semi-finals; and even erratic Italian Fabio Fognini beat him twice – in Rio and Barcelona.
"Last year was a tough year," the fifth-ranked Nadal said. "The nerves that I had, I was anxious in the matches."
It took him 2 hours 46 minutes to finally see off Monfils, who had never won a set against Nadal on clay and had lost 11 of their 13 previous matches.
"He increased his intensity and changed the way he was playing," the 13th-seeded Monfils said, referring to the third set. "I simply couldn't find an answer."
In a topsy-turvy encounter in which they conceded 34 break-point chances between them, Monfils dropped his serve eight times as Nadal clinched his 68th title in his 100th final, and his first since winning on clay at Hamburg last August. His previous final was in January – routed by Djokovic in Doha.
In a contest between two 29-year-olds with differing career trajectories, Monfils was rank outsider.
Since they first played each other in the second round here 11 years ago, Nadal has won 14 Grand Slams and Monfils has never even won a Masters title.
Canada relegated after loss in Fed Cup playoff tie
Dominika Cibulkova downed Aleksandra Wozniak 6-2, 6-0 to propel Slovakia past Canada 3-2 in their Fed Cup World Group II playoff tie on Sunday.
Cibulkova had a virtually flawless performance against the Blainville, Que., native. The world No. 38 dominated from the back of the court, hitting 24 winners, including 18 off the forehand wing.
She also limited her unforced errors to 15 compared with Wozniak's 28.
"I was aggressive from the start of the match," Cibulkova said.
"I knew that Aleksandra could be tired after her long match yesterday [three-set loss], so I wanted to make the most of that."
The loss means that Canada will be relegated to the Americas Zone Group I competition in 2017 for the first time since 2013.
"Our players gave everything they had," Canadian Fed Cup captain Sylvain Bruneau said. "We thought she [Wozniak] would be able to recover after her long battle yesterday, but from the start of the match she felt like she couldn't move very well. But, you have to hand it to Dominika Cibulkova and the way she played.
She was engaged from the get go and didn't give anything away."
Montreal's Françoise Abanda picked up Canada's first point of the tie with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Jana Cepelova.
Abanda delivered a solid performance to earn her third career Fed Cup victory.
The 19-year-old trailed 1-3 in the opening set before reeling off three straight games and never looked back.
"I played very aggressive tennis through the whole match, which is my style of play," said Abanda, who hit 24 winners in the match. "I was efficient and served well. Cepelova is a very good player and I was expecting her to get a lot of balls back, but I stayed alert."
Toronto's Sharon Fichman and Charlotte Robillard-Millette of Blainville won the doubles rubber 6-3, 0-6, 10-8 over Cepelova and Tereza Mihalikova. The win was Robillard-Millette's first of her Fed Cup career.
With files from the Canadian Press